Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 4
Tippett A Child of our Time

Ryan Wigglesworth conductor
Claire Booth soprano
Pamela Helen Stephen mezzo soprano
Ben Johnson tenor
Matthew Rose bass
London Philharmonic Choir

Please note that Claire Booth has stepped in at short notice to replace the originally advertised soprano Rebecca Evans who is unwell.



As Europe slipped towards fascism, Michael Tippett felt the urge to protest in music – to show solidarity with those downtrodden by poverty and prejudice. Then, in 1938, a young Polish Jew oppressed by the rise of Nazism shot a German diplomat dead in Paris. Tippett had the central figure for his ‘oratorio of contemplation’, A Child of our Time. Taking Bach’s Passions and Handel’s Messiah as his models, Tippett ended each of his sections with his own arrangements of African-American spirituals. ‘The world turns on its dark side’, proclaims the opening movement of Tippett’s masterpiece, but it remains a work of stringent hope and optimism.

Free pre-concert discussion | 6.15pm–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall
Writer and broadcaster Daniel Snowman takes a look at Tippett's A Child of our Time.

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TICKETS: £9 - £65
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Hear it first!
Select a link below to listen to selected movements from this concert (Flash Player opens in a new window).

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4 in F minor - I. Allegro
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4 in F minor - II. Andante moderato
Tippett: A Child of Our Time - Part 1: The world turns on its dark side (Chorus)
Tippett: A Child of Our Time - Part 1: The Argument - Man has measured the heavens with a telescope (Alto)
Tippett: A Child of Our Time - Part 2: A star rises in mid-winter (Chorus)
Tippett: A Child of Our Time - Part 3: A Spiritual - Deep river, my home is over Jordan (Chorus and Soli)

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